MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro 15.6 inch Laptop Review

Allan 'Zardon' Campbell June 20, 2014 Highlights-new, Laptop / Mobile

First impressions are extremely positive. The MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro is incredibly thin, measuring only 19.95mm at the thickest point. It is 390 mm x 266 mm in weight and length. It weighs around 1.96 kg.

The design is quite beautiful. No fancy lights or grilled edges. Just the MSI name and the iconic Dragon badge. Classy.

The rear of the laptop is vented – MSI are clearly working in a very restricted physical space, so air circulation is very important.

The left side of the laptop has a headphone and microphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, the power connector, security port and a cooling vent. The right side of the laptop has another USB 3.0 port, card reader, HDMI port, Mini DisplayPort connector and LAN connector. Another vent is positioned at the rear – probably close to a cooling heatsink. We will look at the insides shortly.

There are some vents close to the rear of the chassis, underneath. The MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro is very stable on all surfaces, thanks to four thick rubber feet in every corner.

MSI ship the GS60 2PE Ghost Pro with a soft cover between screen and keyboard – always a good idea to protect the panel from rough handling during shipping.

The screen is not IPS, however the viewing angles are excellent, colours are vibrant and sharpness is very good for the class. I found the brightness and contrast levels to be well above average, although I did tend to use it plugged in at the highest brightness setting. It won't be the best choice for using in direct sunlight outdoors, however we would imagine this would only concern a small audience.

MSI have opted for a pleasant middle ground between a glossy and matte screen surface. It won't mirror everything behind you in a bright room, which we like.

There is no doubt the GS60 2PE Ghost Pro is a looker. From every angle it looks paper thin, yet it is surprisingly rigid.

MSI have incorporated a high grade Steelseries keyboard which I found it a pleasure to use over the course of the last week. My only real issue was the inclusion of a ‘single height' return key. My typing style tends to position my little finger close to the top of a double height key. Obviously when a single height key is used this can cause some issues.

There is dedicated Steelseries software installed which gives the end user quite a lot of control over the settings, including the ability to change colours.

The keyboard lighting is very even and its one of the better laptop implementations we have seen.

The trackpad is oversized and also very good to use. I am not a big fan of trackpads, only using them when I have no option – such as when on a plane or train. It is quite sensitive and tracks movement well.

On board audio is surprisingly good, especially considering the small dimensions of the chassis. It goes without saying that if you take audio seriously then a dedicated pair of speakers or headphones is a good move – onboard audio systems struggle to produce any kind of serious bass response.

The screen is rigid and it won't wobble out of position under use. We have to say, the MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro is exceptionally well built in all areas. The hinges are heavy duty, and the sides of the panel have rubber mounts to protect the screen against the keyboard when it is closed.

The MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro doesn't quite open to a full 180 degrees – its closer to 150 degrees. Still for most people this will be more than enough.

The internal layout of the MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro is exceptional. There are two heatsinks and fans positioned at the rear of the chassis to cool both the GPU and CPU. The only thing that may annoy some people is that the 6-cell battery is not removable – like the current generation Apple Macintosh laptops. To be fair to MSI, this is really the only way they can cram all these components into such a diminutive chassis design.